In 1929, Parrot Fever Gripped The Country May 31, 2009 • It was a classic medical scare story: Parrots died. A few people got sick. Newspapers went wild. Then, well after the outbreak of "parrot fever" was declared dormant, researchers who dealt with the birds began to mysteriously die themselves. Historian Jill Lepore talks to host Jacki Lyden about the great parrot fever outbreak of 1929. Lepore chronicles the episode in the June 1 issue of The New Yorker magazine.
National Kansas Abortion Doctor Shot And Killed In Church May 31, 2009 • George Tiller, a Kansas doctor who became a national lightning rod in the abortion debate, was killed Sunday morning at his church in Wichita, Kan. He was a prominent advocate of a woman's right to choose, and he ran one of the few clinics in the country that performs late-term abortions. Reporter Stan Finger of The Wichita Eagle talks to Jacki Lyden about the case.
Science Out Of The Box Scientist: Cooking Sets Us Apart From Apes May 30, 2009 • Kiss the cook — because she's responsible for most of human evolution, according to Harvard anthropologist Richard Wrangham. Wrangham talks with host Jacki Lyden about his new book, Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human.
Education Competition Turns Science Into Child's Play May 30, 2009 • What if tongue depressors were made of candy? What if you made a skateboard that rolled on balls instead of wheels? And if there really is life on other planets, how on earth could we communicate? More than 700 elementary school students came up with questions and ideas like these for the Kids Science Challenge.
Books 'Dissection' Documents Med School Rite-Of-Passage May 29, 2009 • New book Dissection is a collection of black-and-white photos of Victorian-era medical students posing with their cadavers. The book's co-author, medical historian James Edmonson, says the photographs detail the med school experience at the turn of the 20th century.
Danica McKellar Makes Math Vacation-Friendly May 29, 2009 • Students are counting down the days until the start of summer vacation, but is there a way to convince kids to do math over the break? Ira Flatow talks with McKellar, Wonder Years actress turned math book author, about sharpening students' math skills.
Culture Artists Find Inspiration In Genetic Research May 29, 2009 • Two artists delve into DNA as subject matter for their work and the results are as different as one haplogroup to the next. Lynn Fellman and Daniel Kohn talk about their experiences in the laboratory and how their art visually represents DNA.
How The World's First Telescope Appeared May 29, 2009 • Without the telescope, astronomers would be blind to many marvels of the universe. But how did the device come to be? Science historian Albert van Helden explains how a Dutch spectacle-maker's invention made its way to Galileo, enabling him to spot Jupiter's moons.
Must-See Science: Videos From Science Friday Happy Birthday, Telescope May 29, 2009 • This year is the 400th anniversary of the invention of the telescope. To celebrate its birthday, Science Friday producers hit the streets of New York City to find out what people know about the telescope and its history. Can you explain how a telescope works?
Worlds Of Bacteria, Alive On Your Skin May 28, 2009 • Your body contains 10 times as many bacterial cells as it does human cells. A new study finds that healthy human skin hosts a remarkable diversity of bacteria ecosystems. Even skin as close as the inside and outside of your elbow contains distinct bacteria.
Space After 50 Years, Space Monkeys Not Forgotten May 28, 2009 • In 1959, the United States finally succeeded in sending monkeys into space and bringing them home alive. Two years before any humans, Able and Baker were launched about 360 miles up and experienced about nine minutes of weightlessness.
Study: Glowing Monkeys Pass On Gene To Babies May 27, 2009 • For the first time, scientists in Japan have shown that monkeys genetically engineered to glow green can pass on this trait to their offspring. This means scientists are closer to breeding monkeys that carry human disease genes, which could be useful in medical research.
Environment Funding The Superfund May 27, 2009 • Interactive Map: As part of the economic stimulus package, the Environmental Protection Agency plans to spend about $600 million on cleanup of 50 contaminated Superfund sites.
Financial Turmoil Grips World Markets Stimulus Money Put To Work At Superfund Sites May 27, 2009 • More than $600 million will be spent to aid the cleanup of Superfund sites across the country. The Environmental Protection Agency hopes the cash injections in the projects not only will accelerate recovery of the land, but also will create jobs.
Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court Nomination Diabetes: Is It An Issue For The Supreme Court? May 27, 2009 • Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has Type 1 diabetes. Medical experts say this does not disqualify her from the court. Others say it should be a factor in her confirmation as diabetics have a shorter life expectancy than people without the disease.
